Orlando and St. Augustine, FL {Travel Diary}

This trip was the best vacation! I had such a fun time and though we were busy most of the time it was a refreshing break from life. I was in Florida from May 26th- June 6th.

I wanted to first clarify a few things before I take you on this journey. Our best friends live in Florida and we used to home school with them. Their oldest son was graduating so we came down for that and we stayed and went on a vacation with them.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not trying to brag about this trip or anything like that. I am so thankful I had this opportunity with my family.

Now I can tell you about my trip!

Day 1 (Friday)

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Bright and early at 4am we started our 14 hour journey to Florida. It ended up taking us 14 hours the first day. We stopped in Savannah and coincidentally stayed at the same hotel as we did last time we went to Florida again.

We also stopped at South of the Border which if you are going to Florida you must stop there! It is pretty cheesy but the pictures are worth it.

Day 2 (Saturday)

After a delicious continental breakfast we jumped back on the road. We finally made it to our resort (Tropical Palms) at four or five. It was such a nice place and I loved staying there. Our friends own an RV so we all stayed at an RV park, though we stayed in a cottage. Here’s what our cottage looked like.

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We unloaded that evening and then we went and saw everyone who was there for the graduation. Many of their family and friends had come to Orlando for Josh’s (the guy graduating) graduation. I loved getting to see some of their extended family again and meeting some other people who had a big part in their lives. That evening we played a game about who knew Josh the best and had a pre-party for him.

We also went for a walk that evening and saw an alligator!!

Day 3 (Sunday)

Sunday we went to Josh’s graduation ceremony and then to his party. The ceremony was a home school convention held at the Gay Lord hotel. The ceremony was held the day before Memorial day and the man speaking was fought in the Vietnam war. He was such an amazing speaker!

Later that day, we went to the graduation party. We ate plenty of India food, danced, and listened to Josh, his brothers, and cousins sing and play different instruments. It was a great time and I’ve never danced so much 🙂

Day 4 (Monday)

This day we had the opportunity to meet a woman who my mom lived with while she was teaching in the intercity. We also were able to meet the man (and his family) that introduced my parents to each other! It was a privilege to meet people so influential in my parent’s lives. Plus, we went swimming! I played water football which was different for someone who isn’t a big sport person.

Day 5 (Tuesday)

Tuesday we ended up doing my favorite activity of the week and I conquered one of my fears! We went to Aquatica (Sea World’s water park). This was definitely my families favorite place we went! They had so many fun and refreshing water slides.

I’m not a roller coaster person but I love water slides. There was one that I was terrified of doing. It is called Breakaway falls. You are in a capsule and the floor drops out from under you and you shoot down into a waterside. After a bit of peer pressure, I decided to do it and I ended up going first out of our whole group.

I’m so glad I did it though I would not do it again. I was so surprised as I began dropping the I flung my arms back instead of crossing them over my chest, therefor inhaling a ton of water. All in all it was a great experience though.

I think our favorite all around things were Whala Wave ( a family ride with twists turns and drops) and Rao Rapids (you float around in some fast rapids). I would recommend this completely if you are ever in Florida!

Day 6 (Weechi-Watchee)

So many of our friends went to Weechi-Watchee and said it was their favorite part of their vacation. Plus it was a state park so the tickets were inexpensive ($13 for adults/teens and $8 for kids).

Mermaid show

The dock and swimming area

It was a natural spring (like where bottled water comes from) and they had shows, a riverboat ride, water slides, and swimming area. It was a really different activity than where we would normally go but it was so cool. It was even worth the two-hour drives (both ways)!

Day 7 (Thursday)

The Crucifixtion

The Prodigal Son

On Thursday we went to the Holy Land. When we entered the park, it looked like we had stepped back in time. We went around and saw different performances and toured replicated buildings. We also went to a place called the scriptorium where we learned all about how the Bible was created and evolved. At the end of our time, Ms. Zuli (Josh’s mom) bought us each cross necklaces from the trip. I wear mine all the time.

We got back from the Holy Land and decided to go night swimming. It was a ton of fun and the RV park had a nice pool. I did realize I was really out of swim shape when we were racing in the pool!

Day 8 (Friday)

Friday we just hung out around the RV park. We swam more, did laundry, packed up, and then all ate dinner together.

Day 9 (Saturday)

^^Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort, where we stayed for the last part of our trip

Saturday morning we went to the waffle house and met Jon T and Jeff (people our friends had met earlier in the week). They had great customer service. We then hopped in the car and drove two hours to St. Augustine.

In the afternoon, we met Josh’s aunt and 2nd cousins. We had dinner with them.

Day 10 (Sunday)

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^^Look at how tired we were 🙂

Sunday morning at about 6 am we got up to watch the sunrise on the beach. It was so pretty and I got some cute pictures as well.

Sunday we had our own church in the morning and then we spent all day at the beach. I took some pictures and was in the water most of the time. I ended up taking a nap on the beach too.

Day 11 (Monday)

Monday was our last full day in Florida. We played some four square in the morning but we tried to get to the beach ASAP.

^^Here we are digging a really deep hole

It started to rain (extremely hard, it hurt) but we stayed out in the waves. I went out pretty far that day. I even went to a sand bar!

^^Listening to Danny tell a story

That evening, we all watched the Princess Bride. I forgot what a great movie that is!

Day 12 (Tuesday)

It was really hard to leave Tuesday and I will admit I cried a little. Before we left, we watched the sunrise and said goodbye to everyone. We drove straight through and arrived home that night at 10 PM.

I had such an awesome time on this trip and it was really refreshing. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go on this vacation and I know I will remember the trip for the rest of my life.

I want to shout out my mom for taking the majority of these pictures! Otherwise you would only have about 1/4 of the pictures I posted.

Thank you for reading this post! Have you ever been to any of the places I went to? What was your best vacation?

Ooh, this was quite fun to read, Rebekah! 😀 I’m glad you had a great trip! Also nice pictures. 🙂 I especially liked the one of the alligator (!!), the beach pictures, and I enjoyed seeing pictures of you and your family too.

Ooh, that does sound like fun! We’re going to Florida with some friends in August (but just for a few days) and I’m excited for that! We went two years ago and had lots of fun.
I loved the pictures of the sunrise!
~Megan~